Surprise: AMC renews 'Halt and Catch Fire'

AMC has decided to take a chance on renewing the modestly rated freshman drama series Halt and Catch Fire.

The series set in the Texas computer industry in the 1980s has only averaged 1.3 million viewers across its first 10 episodes, including seven days of DVR playback. Yet AMC believes the show has potential for growth. “This is a show about invention, experimentation, and the inherent risks in trying to break new ground—themes that really resonate with us as a network and attracted a passionate audience,” explains AMC president Charlie Collier. “We have a history of demonstrating patience through the early seasons of new shows, betting on talent and building audience over time.”

Helping the pickup: Halt was ranked as a drama with a upscale-skewing audience, ranking No. 3 on that measurement behind AMC’s Mad Men and CBS’ The Good Wife.

Halt will return next summer for another 10 episodes. Producers Chris Cantwell, Chris Rogers, and Jonathan Lisco said the second season “will take the rich characters our audience has come to love in new and surprising directions.”